Lenten Photo

This is why I LOVE legos...

Little Dude B's "Stations of the Cross"

Gotta Love Sunday Afternoons

With a bit of mumbling under their breath, we loaded up the munchkins into the van for an afternoon of exploring the Fredericksburg Battlefield. There was a lot of moaning and groaning as an afternoon watching a movie on Netflix was what they were seeking. It was an unseasonably bearable Sunday afternoon, and therefore being inside was not an option.

After a brief movie at the Visitor's Center, we headed along the trail to see where so many men perished during this battle of the Civil War. The dudes enjoyed seeing the cannons, partial wall that was to hold the Union soldiers back from the Confederate Army, and the Cemetery. It proved to be an fun adventure for all.

Three Smiles=Success

Just a week later, we whisked the kids up to Washington, DC to the National Building Museum. As lwe loaded them in the car, and again there was lots of rumbling, especially since we did not tell them where we were headed.

Little Dude B - intently spying exhibit flag

Smiles Again!

The architecture of this building was phenomenal. LOVED IT...learned that Inaugural Balls are held here.

Architectural Lego Sets - Life Size

Lego Factoid

Lego Building - just beyond exhibit

Moloko Family Creations

Kids Post

Big Sister has the habit of writing notes and letters, sealing them in envelopes and mailing them off to family members and friends. I am usually not aware of her efforts until I receive an email or phone call telling me about her "sweet" note or how "creative & clever" her letter was to the recipient.

About a month ago, she was reading the "Kids Post" section of the Sunday Washington Post newspaper. This is where the "Kids Mini-Page" can be found and definitely a BIG deal amongst the three Moloko munchkins. In this particular circular, it was asking kids to submit drawings of a lion family. Before I knew it, there was an stamped envelope addressed to the Washington Post to be mailed. When I inquired, she said "Oh, it is just some contest and I drew a few photos."

Fast forward to two weeks ago, a message from the Washington Post Offices was left on the answering machine. Evidently, Big Sister's art would be included in the upcoming "Kids Post" magazine. Sadly, all of her artwork was not featured, but, they cut out a few of her drawings to be featured.

Cute female lion on cover

Another Lion included in the insert

Official letter from The Washington Post A t-shirt for her efforts!

Shining Stars

Big Sister is most proud of her latest achievement...she made the Principal's Honor Role for the 2nd quarter! Yep, ALL A's. That was a goal she had hoped for first quarter, but, did not quite make it with one B in her least favorite subject, Science. Well, she told me the other day that the pressure is on! I asked her what she meant. "Mom, I no longer have any wiggle room...I have to work as hard the next two quarters to get "Principal's Honor Roll" again. Not sure if I was much help...I told her to AIM HIGH!

Little Dude B was also recognized during the 1st Quarter for his "Shining Star" efforts in reading. What a smile!

Not to be outdone by his younger brother, Little Dude M was the recipient of the "Shining Star" in reading for the 2nd Quarter!

If I was a peacock, my plumage would be in full fan display.

Crazy Hat

It was Catholic School Week last week for the Moloko Munchkins. They were given the opportunity to celebrate in some unique ways and participate in some fun activities. I must say, the day in which they were permitted to wear a crazy hat, tie, and socks was a favorite!

The day prior, the all three munchkins came to me with the desire to have the "craziest" hat of all. I found three straw safari hats leftover from a previous birthday party and sent them on a mission to scrounge through their bedrooms and "special/junk" drawers. Little Dude B had a bit of a head start as he stayed home from school due to a slight fever. He quickly found some foam, shoe strings, straws and Nerf Darts. I helped him assemble his creation and I was impressed! Pretty wacky!

Big Sister came home from school, saw Little Dude B's and before I knew it, my kitchen table was covered with her stuffed Muppet collection. At the age of three, she went through a stage where she was crazy about "The Muppet Show." One afternoon, she and Hubby went on an errand and came home with a bunch o' Muppet's. Well, she decided to string several characters on her hat and the end result was fantastic! Love the tie too!


Poor Little Dude M! He was bummed and felt he had "lost his imagination." He was not sure how to top his siblings creations. So, I ventured upstairs and helped his sift through his treasures. I did not take long for us to come up with the simple design. With a little help of Hubby's engineering, I have to say his hat was definitely the most unique (and favored)!

Here is a photo of the Little Dudes proudly wearing their designs at school.

I am going to be shameless and brag. I was approached by many teachers, students, and parents saying the Moloko's knocked the "CRAZY HATS" requirement out of the ballpark. I must agree! Although, there were some other noteworthy hats, I am most certain these were by far the coolest!

Nine Years in a Flash!

WHOA! It is amazing how quickly our little girl has gone from this wide eyed baby girl,

To this:

Increasingly wide-eyed energetic nine-year old young lady.

Gotta love birthdays, especially where Big Sister is concerned. She picks out her party themes and colors months in advance, draws sketches of her cake design, and plans out almost every detail. She seriously could have a future in party planning. Oh, the lists she can create! This year, she chose turquoise and lime green as her "theme colors" and decided a party of 10 would join her at the local roller skating rink to commemorate her 9th Birthday!

Birthday Card created by a Little Dude

Flowers chosen by Little Dudes - Vibrant like Big Sister

Cake collaboration - Hubby makes a fabulous roller skate

Making her wish...hoping it comes true!

Now, as if a BIG birthday bash was not enough. Big Sister insisted on attending the school's Decades Dance. I promised her we would attend the event for an hour before joining Hubby and the Little Dudes at a local restaurant to have her "Birthday" dinner. Here she is dancing to the all-time favorite 70's tune, "YMCA."

It was definitely a busy but MEMORABLE birthday. She told me just today, she has already decided on her color scheme for next year!

Useless Knowledge

Big Sister is always enligtening the family with trivia facts. Her usual source is Dan Yaccarino's "Go, Go America", a book of unique oddities, kooky state contests, and ludicrous laws on the books for our 50 states.

Well, I was recently at the library and came across another gem of a book in the childrens section entitled "Chickens May Not Cross the Road: and Other Crazy (But True) Laws " by Kathy Linz. I brought the book home, shared it with the kids, and just had to include these ridiculous laws on the blog. Definitely usless trivia but comical.

**Trout fishing is against the law if you are sitting on a Giraffes back. (Idaho State Law) ??? Did not know Giraffes were common in Idaho.

**Donkeys are not allowed to sleep in bathtubs. (Brooklyn, NY) Trying to imagine the percentaage of pet "donkeys" currently residng in Brooklyn these days.

**No one may drive while asleep. (Memphis, TN) Sounds like sound advice!

**A pickle is not to be sold unless it bounces. (Connecticut State law) I have never bounced a pickle...thinking something I will try real soon.

**Chicken may not cross the road. (Quitman, GA) No need to ask why then!

**You may not swim on dry land (Santa Ana, CA) Seems a difficult task at best.

**Riding an ugly horse is illegal .(Wilbur, Washington) Who or what determines whether the horse is ugly or not? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right?

**All traffic must come to a STOP if there is a bird on the Highway. (Utah State Code) Utterly ridiculous in the Washington DC Metro area!

**It is forbidden to fish for whales. (Oklahoma State Law) One must have to go far in Oklahoma for whale fishing.